1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoelace fixing technique for tying a shoelace and preventing the shoelace from being separated, and more particularly to a shoelace fastener and a shoelace structure that facilitate tying a shoelace and adjusting the tightness of the shoelace.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a shoe with a tying function usually includes a shoe surface disposed at the top surface of the shoe, and the surface has pairs of left and right symmetrical shoelace eyelets provided for passing through the shoelace eyelets alternately and adjusting the length of the shoelace that passes through the shoelace eyelets in order to adjust the tightness of the shoelace and achieve the effects of tying and fixing the shoe. Because the length of the upper shoe surface or the number of shoelace eyelets varies with different types of shoes, it is necessary to provide shoelaces with different lengths for different types of shoes, or else the shoes cannot be tied securely and may fall off easily.
However, a conventional shoelace still has the following drawbacks that require further improvements:
1. Most shoelaces are designed with one length, and both ends of a shoelace have a shoelace head individually provided for passing through the shoelaces eyelets alternately, such that if the shoelace is too long or too short, then another shoelace of an appropriate length must be used. If the shoelace head is cut to fit the length, then the shoelace may lose structure integrally or may easily splits from end.
2. When a conventional shoelace is used for tying, repeatedly adjusting the length of the shoelace between the shoelace eyelets is necessary, and then tie a bow-tie or any other types of knot to fix both ends of the shoelace. Obviously, the conventional way of tying the shoelaces takes time and effort. Furthermore, the shoelaces may be loosened easily.
3. The remaining section of a tied shoelace may be hooked by an object and cause the tied shoelace to loose easily, so shoe wearers may trip over the loosened shoelace and get hurt.
4. The knot of a tied shoelace is protruded and dropped at the shoe surface with lace holes. For exercises or ball games, the knot may touch the ball surface to produce irregular bouncing movements, and all these drawbacks are annoying to shoe wearers. Furthermore, a conventional fabric shoelace may get dirty easily and generally comes with no waterproof effect.
In view of the aforementioned shortcomings of the conventional shoelaces, the inventor of the present invention designed a novel shoelace with a shoelace fastener, wherein the shoelace fastener is provided for fastening a fabric shoelace or a plastic shoelace to overcome the conventional way of adjusting the length of the shoelaces and the drawbacks of a conventional shoelace knot. The design of a ratchet in accordance with the invention provides a convenient way of adjusting the length of the shoelace easily to achieve the effects of adjusting the tightness of the shoelace effectively and significantly enhancing the convenience for using.